The Bet of Ages
by WildlifeWarrioress
Summary: Martin and Gonff go to the Roman Empire after being challenged by Tsarmina to survive there for a week. But have they gotten themselves into more than they bargained for? Story previously called "Adventures in Rome" and "A Week in Rome."
1. The Bet

**This is a new story idea that I came up with recently of which I'm trying to decide if I should write it or not. So, I decided to post the first chapter and see how it all goes.**

**Oh yeah, and I think that I should mention now that I'm a history nerd. How much so, you ask? Enough to write this story - and enough to take a history class even when I didn't need to! XD!**

* * *

It was a beautiful spring day in Mossflower woods. Two young mice were walking through the forest, the one juggling around three shiny pearls.

"Do I need to ask where you got those?" The one mouse asked the other.

"I stole 'em," the other mouse replied as he continued juggling. "From Kotir."

"Figures."

"You should've been able to guess that, Martin me matey! After all, I am the Prince of Mousethieves!"

Martin sighed. His friend was one little troublemaker. "You know it's not a good idea to walk and juggle at the same time, Gonff."

Gonff looked over at Martin. "Really? Well, did you know that I'm the Prince of Multitask-EEK!" He tripped over a rock and fell flat on his chest.

Martin chuckled. "Really? Cause that sure didn't look like it! Looked more like the Prince of Clumsiness to me!"

Gonff hopped back onto his paws and rubbed his chest. "We all make mistakes sometimes, matey! And, that I am too!"

Martin giggled, but his joyful attitude quickly disappeared. "And if we don't start running now then that would be the biggest mistake in our whole lives."

"Why?"

Before Martin could reply, a huge wildcat had walked right up to them, blocking the dirt pathway.

Gonff quickly hid the pearls behind his back when he saw the wildcat. Luckily for him, the wildcat did not notice, as she was staring at Martin.

"I though I locked you up for life, mouse!" the wildcat hissed.

"Did you forget that we escaped, wildcat?!" Martin growled back.

The wildcat though for a moment. "Oh yeah, you did. You and that little thief my father has been trying to catch for so long." It was then that she spotted Gonff. "You'll pay big time for stealing, thief!"

"What do I owe ya, Tsarmina?" Gonff asked.

"Your life!"

Martin jumped in defense of his friend. "Perhaps if you weren't a cruel dictator then he would not have to steal to survive in the first place!" The mouse knew that what he said wasn't true, as his friend was a thief at heart. But he had to try.

"Cruel? You think that I'm the cruel dictator? I may be mean, but I'm nothing compared to the Caesar of Rome! You woodlanders would never survive in the Roman Empire! HAHAHA!" Tsarmina replied.

Martin's competitive spirit arose. "Is that a challenge?"

Tsarmina laughed. "HAHAHA! You two would not survive for even a day in Rome! HAHAHA!" She pointed at Martin. "You would be killed instantly in a gladiator fight!" Her point was then directed towards Gonff. "And you would be crucified within an hour at most!"

"What does that mean?" Gonff asked.

Tsarmina ignored him. The wildcat finally stopped laughing, and looked at Martin seriously. "So, you and the little thief really think that you two could survive a day in the Roman Empire, do you?"

"Yes," Martin responded humorlessly.

"And you know what?!" Gonff added. "Not only will we survive, but Martin will fight a gladiator and I'll be whatever that thing was again!"

Tsarmina had to hold a paw over her mouth to stop herself from laughing uncontrollably at the latter half of the mousethief's statement. _What an idiot_, she thought to herself.

"So, wildcat, do we have a bet?" Martin asked.

"Sure, mouse, we have a bet," the wildcat answered. "If you win, then I will allow you to kill five of my soldiers, and I'll let your friend steal from Kotir for two days straight without any threat of punishment whatsoever. And, if I win...oh, wait, if I win then I'd already have what I want as you'll both be dead. Deal?"

Martin thought about it for a moment. He was a bit uncomfortable with the idea of killing as a reward. "Deal, but if I win then I'll fight the soldiers rather than kill them outright, just to give them a fair chance." The mouse and the wildcat shook paws in agreement.

Tsarmina immediately realized something. "You know what? Let's make it a week rather than a day. It'll be more of...uhh...a challenge, which will...umm...make it funner."

"Ok." Martin looked over at his friend. "Come on, Gonff, we must go tell Bella and the others about our little trip."

"Yay, we're going to Rome!" Gonff squeaked in excitement.

Tsarmina watched the two mice leave. Thoughts of what could be the warrior's final fight and the thief's agonizing death filled her mind. The wildcat sniggered in glee.

* * *

**So, what do you guys think? Should I continue with this story idea or not?**


	2. At Brockhall

**Guess what? I decided to continue with this story! The history nerd within me couldn't resist writing it!**

**Everything related to Redwall is copywrited by Brian Jacques! In addition to that, all OC's are copywrited by me!**

**Ok, now on to the story!**

* * *

"Rome! Are you two crazy?!" Bella the badger exclaimed after Martin told her about the bet he made with Tsarmina.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Gonff joked.

Unlike his friend, Martin answered the question seriously. "Come on, Bella, we have to show that wildcat that us woodlanders are not weaklings."

"We will show her that we are strong, but that does not mean that we have to go to dangerous places to prove it!" Bella responded.

"Plus, I've heard that the Caesar is pretty harsh and cruel," Amber the squirrel added. "He'd have you decapitated if you even so much as say one bad word about him!"

Gonff thought of a simple solution. "Then we'll just behave so that we don't get on the Caesar's bad side."

Everybeast in the room laughed. Amber pounded her paw on the table from her uncontrollable laughter. "Gonff? Behaving? You might as well tell a fish to breathe out of water!"

"Hahaha, Amber you are funny!" Bella then stopped laughing, and was dead serious. "She's right, though. Gonff always causes mischief here; how are we to know that he won't do the same in Rome?"

"I'll just keep a very close eye on him," Martin replied.

"Or maybe he should stay here and only Martin go," Goody the hedgehog suggested.

Gonff complained. "But-"

"No buts, mister, or yours will be the receiving end of my switch! Now off you go!" Goody's husband Ben shooed their step-son to his room.

Bella sighed from relief. "Thanks, Goody."

"No problem, Bella. Plus, I just couldn't risk something bad happening to my little baby," Goody responded.

"If they'd behead you just for saying a bad word then who knows what they'd do for thievery," Ben added.

Amber thought for a moment. "If I remember correctly they'd nail you to a cross for that."

Everybeast shuttered from the disturbing mental image of what the squirrel mentioned.

Martin was the first to speak afterwards. "That's exactly what Tsarmina told him, though she just used the proper name rather than giving any sort of description. Poor Gonff didn't understand what she was talking about."

"Then it's a really good thing that he's not going," Skipper the otter mentioned. "I'm sure that none of us want him to learn what that is the hard way, mates!"

"Exactly," Bella said. "After Martin leaves I'll go explain to him what it is. Maybe then he'd understand why we won't let him go."

"Wait, so does that mean that I can go to Rome?" Martin asked.

"Sure. You're a responsible young mouse, there should be no problem with you and the authorities there. Plus, I sense that no matter what we say we would not be able to stop you anyway."

Martin chuckled. "Haha, that's true! I am quite stubborn at times!"

"But you are responsible," Amber emphasized.

Martin nodded. "Yes, that I am too." He thought for a moment. "And with that in mind I really don't think that it's a good idea that I go alone."

"I understand. There is a marten named Pineflower who lives a few miles east of Brockhall. She's an expert of all things Roman. I think that she'd be the perfect companion for your trip, and I'm sure that she'd be very willing to come along with you," Bella informed.

"Thank you Bella. I will stop by to see if she'd come with us."

"Us?" Skipper questioned. "Who else is coming with ya?"

"Gonff. He has to come. The bet was that both me and him survive in Rome, not just me. Plus, he's my buddy!"

"Martin, we already settled this. He's not going," Bella sternly reminded.

"But what do I tell Tsarmina then?"

"We'll just tell her that he couldn't go with you because he's grounded for stealing something of ours. Don't worry about it, Martin, we have this all figured out," Bella reassured. "You just worry about making sure that you have everything needed for the trip. We'll help you pack."

Martin nodded appreciatively. "Thank you."

All of the woodlanders at Brockhall helped to gather food and other materials that the warrior mouse would need on his trip to Rome. Afterwards they waved goodbye and wished him luck as Martin left. Once the warrior was out of their sights the woodlanders went back to their everyday lives.

"I'll be back in a few moments; I need to speak with the little rascal," Bella left the group of creatures that she was with, and knocked on the door of the young mouse's bedroom. "Gonff?" No response. Bella knocked again. "Gonff?" Still no response. The badger opened the door and went into the bedroom. "Gonff, are you in here?" Everything seemed normal, except for one thing: the little mousethief was missing. What looked like a letter was lying on the bed. Bella went over to read it. Upon reading the letter, the badger sighed in frustration.

"What is it?" Ben asked as he entered the room. Goody, Skipper, and Amber followed him in.

"And once again, he doesn't listen to us!"

"What do you mean?" Goody asked.

Bella showed the others the letter. "Gonff snuck out and is going with Martin on his quest."

Everybeast sighed with frustration. "That young mouse seriously needs to learn some discipline!" Amber exclaimed.

"But how are we going to do that without hurting him? Nothing seems to work." Skipper asked.

"I don't know, whack him for all I care!"

"That involves hurting him," Bella mentioned.

She threw up her paws in defeat. "You know what, I don't care anymore! If Gonff gets into some serious trouble then so be it! He just better not come crying to me about it!"

Goody's eyes started to water. Ben comforted her. "Don't worry, my dear, Amber's not being serious; she's just extremely irritated right now, that's all. I'll bet that by tomorrow morning she will be worrying non-stop about him, you'll see."

Goody nodded as she wiped a tear. "Ok. But I'm just so worried about our little boy. What if they kill him?"

"They won't kill him, not if he's with Martin - which he will be!" Skipper was about to place a paw on the worried hedgehog's shoulder, but quickly decided against it. Instead he patted her paw. "I say let's not worry! Gonff's with Martin, meaning that he'll be in safe paws. And if Pineflower decides to join them, then even better! He'll be fine, I assure you all!"

Bella looked at the otter, then at the others. "You know, Skipper's right. Martin will protect Gonff. That warrior will put his life on the line to protect his friends. Plus, who are we to stop him? We have to let Gonff grow up sometime; we can't just baby him for the rest of his life. Now that I come to think of it, this will probably be a very good experience for him."

"And a fun one! What young one wouldn't enjoy a trip to the famous Roman Empire?" Skipper added.

Ben nodded in agreement. "I think Skipper's right. Gonff seemed pretty enthusiastic about the idea of going to Rome. Let's just let him go. He and Martin are sure to have a blast!"

"I just hope that they're careful," Amber said, her voice much more calmer than it was a few moments ago.

Everybeast nodded in agreement, then left the room to go to sleep.

* * *

**King's Critic: Thanks for the interesting historical facts! In my story, the name "Caesar" is simply used as a title for the Emperor of Rome, not for a particular individual per say. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't gladiator battles popular when the Colosseum was built, which was after Rome changed from a Republic to an Empire? If I remember correctly those battles were one of the purposes of the Colosseum, or at least were something that it was used for.  
**

**If anybody else notices factual errors then will you please let me know? Thanks!**

**lectoboy: I haven't really gotten to the part of the story with the "bam and pow and action" yet, so that's why it hasn't appeared at this point. I'm going to keep it with just pearls so the other readers can interpret it as they like, but I do really like the idea of gold pearls and if you want to imagine them as such, then be my guest!**


	3. Pineflower

**I knew that someone would ask about this sooner than later, and I apologize for not mentioning this earlier. Out of respect for those who are not Christian, I will not be mentioning Jesus in this story. The reason why crucifixion has been brought up is because it was an actual method of execution in ancient Rome, and it was used on thieves (among others). And yes, it will play a role in this story.**

* * *

By the time Martin left Brockhall, the sun was setting in Mossflower country. He wandered east through the woods, trying to find Pineflower. The warrior was completely caught in surprise when he felt somebeast tap his shoulder.

It was Gonff. "Hi, Martin me matey!"

Martin was confused. "Gonff, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at Brockhall?"

"Yeah, but I'm coming with you, matey!" Gonff threw an arm on his best friend's shoulder.

The warrior felt a little uneasy. "You know that you're gonna be in big trouble for this..."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm in trouble all the time, matey! Though I wrote a letter telling them that I'm coming with you, so hopefully I won't be in trouble!"

"I hope so. But whatever the case may be, I'm glad you're coming."

Gonff pounded Martin on the back. "That's the spirit, Martin me matey! Just imagine: the Prince of Mousethieves and his pal Martin the Warrior on an exciting quest to the mighty Roman Empire! We'll fight gladiators and we'll be whatever that is Tsarmina said and we'll eat lots of good Roman food and we'll meet lots of cool Romans!" He grabbed his flute and started to fiddle a song on it.

Martin chuckled. "Yeah, we will - except for what Tsarmina said; that's not good and we must avoid it at all costs! But first thing's first, we must find Pineflower-"

"I know her! I know where she lives too-"

"Let me guess: you steal from her."

Gonff started to act all innocent. "Me? Steal from a gentle lady such as Pineflower? Never!"

Martin was not convinced. "Oh really?"

"Yeah really!"

"Then explain how you know where she lives."

"Cause I've been there."

"And why were you there?"

"Cause...uhh...I was visiting her."

"And why where you visiting her?"

"Cause she's a friend."

"And why is she your friend?"

"Cause I met her and she is friendly."

"And how did you come to met her?"

"Through...umm...Bella."

"And why did Bella introduce you to her?"

"Cause...she was visiting Brockhall."

"And why was she visiting Brockhall?"

"To tell us about Verdauga's plans."

"And how did she know them?"

"Through Ashleg."

"And why would Ashleg tell her if she is friendly to woodlanders?"

"I don't know; I was just a babe. Now come on, matey!" Gonff grabbed Martin's paw and led him in the direction of Pineflower's den. The warrior was still not convinced, but realised that he would spend all night trying to get the truth out of his friend. So he just let him drag him along.

It was completely dark by the time the two mice reached Pineflower's den. Gonff dragged Martin into the den without even alerting the resident to their presence first.

In the den, a pine marten was curled up reading a book. Suddenly the book was snatched from her paws. "Hey!" The marten jumped up onto her paws to confront the thief. But she calmed down once she realised who he was. "Oh, hello Gonff. Here to steal my stuff again?"

"Wait a second, Gonff, I thought you told me that you'd never steal from her?" Martin questioned.

Gonff hesitated. "Uhh...she doesn't know what she's talking about! She must be referring to a different Gonff!"

"You're the only Gonff that I know of," the marten said. "And even if that's not the case, I am referring to you, silly." She softly bonked the mousethief on his head.

"So he has stolen from you before?" Martin asked the marten, knowing that he'd get the truth out of her.

"Yeah, he has. Plenty of times. Catching him in the act is actually how I came to know him."

Martin looked at his friend. "Wait a minute, you said that you came to know her through Bella and the other woodlanders?"

The marten laughed. "Hahaha! No, it's the other way around, actually. I came to know the woodlanders through Gonff. After I caught him stealing my stuff I dragged him back to Brockhall and told them what he was up to. And I ended up staying and talking to them, and before I knew it we were all friends."

Martin and the marten looked at Gonff, waiting for his response. Gonff realised that there was no escaping the truth now. "Alright, I admit, I do steal from her."

"I thought so," Martin said. "Nice try trying to keep me from knowing!"

"What can I say? I'm the Prince of Liars."

"That is true," the marten mentioned. It was then she realised that she didn't know Martin. "So whom do I have the honor of speaking to?" she asked him.

"I am Martin the Warrior, Son of Luke the Warrior," Martin responded.

The marten offered him her paw. "Name's Pineflower, uhh...Sister of Ashleg!"

Martin shook the paw. "Nice to meet you Pineflower."

"So how may I help you two mice tonight?"

"Bella told me that you'd be of great assistance to us."

Pineflower smiled. "Ah, what did Bella say about me this time?"

"That you were the expert of all things Roman."

The mention of Rome excited Pineflower. "Yay, something that I'm actually expertise on!"

"What do you mean?" Martin was confused.

Pineflower explained. "Bella likes to say that I'm an expert of everything! I don't know why, but I think it's just because she pities me for being Ashleg's littermate. Anyway, so what do you need to know about the glorious Roman Empire?" The marten went to her bookself and grabbed some books. She showed them to the two mice. "I've got plenty of books about Rome. This big one is a complete guide to Rome. This one is about Roman history, and this small one is about crucifixion. I've also got books on Roman food and Caesars and, my personal favorite, Roman entertainment. This one in particular is about gladiators." She tossed the book to Martin. Gonff grabbed the book about Roman food.

Martin was impressed. "Wow, you sure have a lot of books. You must be quite knowledgeable about Rome."

"Yeah, but, not quite." Pineflower sighed. "I've...I've never been to Rome before. I'll never know what it's truly like until I've been there. But I don't think that I'll ever get the chance to. Oh, what I'd give just to spend a day there! Oh, I'm sorry, I'm bragging about my desires when I should be helping you. What do you need to know?"

"Actually, what I need is an expert on Rome to come with me and Gonff on our trip to said location."

Pineflower stared at Martin in disbelief. "And...you're asking me to come?"

"That's why we're here!"

Pineflower squealed in delight and hugged the two mice. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you! Oh my goodness, this is the best moment of my life! So when are we leaving?"

"To...morrow...gasp..."

Like Martin, Gonff was gasping for breath. "You're...choking...me..."

"Oh. Oopise." The marten put the two mice down and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I let my excitement get the best of me."

"That's ok, matey!"

"Thanks for understanding! Oh, I'm just so excited! Hey Gonff, would you play your flute for us?"

"Sure!" Gonff grabbed his flute and fiddled a tune on it. He and Pineflower danced around as the marten sang in Latin. Martin tapped his paw to the beat of the music.

Afterwards they settled down and fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day for all three creatures.

* * *

**King's Critic: I'm so glad that you were able to learn something new! I never expected to learn anything on this site either, so it was a pleasant surprise when you told me about the Spartacus Slave Revolt. And don't worry about that spelling error in your previous review; I make spelling mistakes all the time, XD!**


	4. Travelling

**Just to let everyone know, starting next week I will not be updating this story as quickly as I have been recently due to the resume of school (since I am one of those students with an unhealthy obsession over grades). I'll still try to update as often as I can but there can be no promises with that.**

**Oh yeah, and I must mention now that I epically fail with mole-speech.**

* * *

Pineflower woke up very early the next morning. She could not sleep any longer due to her excitement. The marten shook the two mice awake. "Come on, Gonff, come on, Martin, time to wake up! Today's the big day!"

"Ok, ok, I'm up, I'm up," Martin yawned. He stood up.

Gonff stretched, then got up onto his paws. "So when are we leaving, matey?"

Pineflower jumped for joy. "When you guys are ready!"

The three creatures prepared for the day, then left Pineflower's den. They travelled south.

Pineflower couldn't shut up. "Isn't this so exciting? I - uh, we - finally get to go to Rome! Squee! Yay for Rome!"

"Ok, Pineflower, we get it," Martin said. "You don't have to brag about it 24-7."

"Oh, I'm sorry but I cannot contain my excitement! This is going to be the most exciting event in my whole life!"

"Yes, I understand that. We are excited too."

"So what do you guys plan on doing in Rome?"

"Surviving there for a week."

Pineflower was shocked. "That's it! Oh, you gotta do more than that!"

"We will, matey," Gonff reassured. "Martin will fight a gladiator, and I'll be...uhh...I don't remember what it was called-"

"Can you describe it?" Pineflower asked, curious.

"Actually I don't even know what it is. It was something mentioned by Tsarmina."

"Oh," Pineflower hesitated. She knew that anything which involved Tsarmina was not a good thing.

"I know what he's talking about," Martin mentioned. "It's-"

"Hi Martin, hi Gonff!" A young female mouse greeted as she approached the group. A mole followed, greeting his friends.

"Hello, Columbine, hello Dinny," Martin greeted back.

Gonff swept the female mouse off of her feet and kissed her on the cheek. "Good day, my beautiful Columbine!"

Columbine smiled. "Oh Gonff, you mischievous lover! How are you?"

"I'm great, better now that you're here!"

Columbine took Gonff''s hat. "So what are you up to today?"

"Me and Martin are going to Rome!"

"Oh yeah, you told me that yesterday."

As the two love-mice were talking, Martin was having a conversation with Dinny. "So do you want to come with us, Din?"

Dinny thought for a moment. "Surry, Marthen, but Oi not cumfurtable weth goin' to Roome."

"That's ok, Dinny. I understand."

Pineflower was about to intervene, but decided against it as she remembered that not everybeast was as excited about Rome as she was. _It is very dangerous_, she reminded herself.

Gonff had finally allowed Columbine to get back on her paws, and she put his hat back on his head. They kissed on the lips.

"Eew!" Pineflower stuck out her tongue. "Yuck!"

"It's called love," Martin informed.

"How do you know - waaaaiiiit, have you ever been in looooove before?"

"No," Martin lied. "I've just seen it before."

"Oh, ok. But still, it's gross! Blah!"

The two love mice finally stopped kissing. Columbine placed a paw on Gonff's shoulder. "Please be careful, my love."

He pecked her on the nose. "I'll be careful, my beauty."

"And we'll keep a close eye on him, just in case," Pineflower assured. "Young lady, we will do whatever we can to keep him safe, I promise."

Columbine sighed with relief. "Oh, thank you Mrs. Marten-"

"The name's Pineflower."

"Oh, ok. Anyway, thank you."

"No problem, missie!"

"Good luck, zurr Marthen an Gonffen!" Dinny said. He and Columbine said goodbye to the three travellers, whom waved back at them as they continued their travels south.

* * *

"So, how did a warrior like you come to know that little terror in the first place?" Pineflower asked as Gonff momentarily snuck away from the group and into a den to steal the resident's food.

"We met in the Kotir dungeon," Martin responded.

"Oh, ok. Ah, and speaking of Kotir..."

A ferret in the Greeneyes armour approached the two creatures. He was leading a horse.

"What do you want?" Martin asked aggressively.

The Kotir soldier threw up his paws in innocence. "Hey, chill down, little warrior. I am not here to hurt, kill, or arrest you! I was just ordered by Your Majesty Queen Tsarmina to give you this horse so that you and your pal can arrive to Rome quicker." He offered Martin the reins of the horse's bridle.

Martin accepted the reins. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem!" The ferret noticed the marten. "Ah, Pineflower! What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to Rome!" Pineflower answered excitedly.

"Cool. Keep safe! Say, where is that other mouse?"

As if on cue, Gonff arrived at the scene, munching on some walnuts. The jolly Kotir soldier grew stern as he walked up to the thief. "And you better stay out of trouble, you hear me! If anybody's gonna kill you then it will be one of us at Kotir, not a Roman!"

"Ok, matey...oww! Why'd you do that?"

"That's punishment for stealing!"

Pineflower decided to intervene before things got too violent. "Ok, ferret, he gets it! You don't have to poke him with your spear a million times!"

The ferret nodded his understanding. He shouted at the three travellers as they left. "Oh, and Your Majesty Queen Tsarmina has ordered you to send her a letter once you arrive in Rome!"

"Ok, got it!" Martin shouted back.

The three travellers continued on their way. "She's a beauty, ain't she?" Gonff said, referring to the horse. The horse lowered her head to the mouse's level, and he rubbed her muzzle. "Did I ever tell you guys that I'm the Prince of Horse Whisperers?"

"Of course you are," Martin mumbled.

"That was quite generous of Tsarmina to give us the horse," Pineflower stated.

Martin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it sure was."

"So, don't you think that we should be riding her?"

"Oh, yes."

The horse allowed the three small critters to climb her neck to get on her back. Once they were all settled, the horse galloped off, heading south towards Rome.

* * *

**Next chapter's the arrival to Rome! Yay!**

* * *

**King's Critic: To be honest, I haven't really thought of what exact time period this story is going to take place in. The only things I have thought of for certain is that it is during the Roman Empire (not the Republic), is when the Colosseum was used, is when Greece was under control by Rome, and is when crucification was still used for execution. Once I determine exactly when that time period is I'll let you know!**

**ScienceNerd: Yes, "Martin the Gladiator" does sound epically hilarious - and epically awesome! Don't worry about mistaking me for an atheist; it happens all the time, sadly (and it's very annoying).**


	5. Arrival

The travellers continued on their way south until they reached the southernmost part of Great Britain. From there, they crossed the English Channel with the help of dolphins. Upon arriving on mainland Europe, they worked their way southeast and over the Alpine mountains into the Italian Peninsula. Nobeast knew how long they had been travelling by the time Rome could be seen from over the hills.

Pineflower was the first to spot it. "Look! Off in the distance! It's Rome! We're almost there!"

For the first time during the trip Martin felt pure excitement. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The horse galloped off towards Rome. It did not take long to get there. When they arrived, the travellers stared in awe at the architecture of the city. The horse whinnied in disbelief at what she was seeing. "Rome!" Pineflower squealed in delight. "I'm finally in Rome!"

The Romans stared at the marten for a few moments, then greeted the travellers. They were particularly fascinated with Martin and the broken sword he wore around his neck. "How'd you break your sword?" one asked.

"Why are you wearing it around your neck?" another asked.

"Are you a gladiator?"

"Did your sword break in a fight?"

"Does wearing it represent some kind of symbolism?"

Martin explained to everybeast why the sword was broken and why he wore it round his neck. The Romans were fascinated even more. "So who are you?" a Roman asked.

Martin introduced himself. "I am Martin the Warrior, Son of Luke the Warrior."

A "wow" arose from the crowd.

Martin introduced his friends to the Romans. "This is Pineflower, the scholar marten." Pineflower waved, too excited to even speak. "And this is my best friend Gonff." Gonff was about to say something, but a stern glare from Martin shut him up.

"Well, Martin, Pineflower, Gonff, welcome to Rome!"

Martin bowed his head in respect. "Thank you."

The travellers made their way through the city until they arrived at a beautiful mountain, which Pineflower immediately ran up to to admire. There, they were stopped by a young wolf. "Stop, invaders!" the wolf pup thrust his stick like a sword at the travellers. "Or you'll be turned in to the Caesar!"

"Hey, hey, hey, what's this all about, little one?" Martin asked.

"Not one step closer or I'll stab you with my sword!" The wolf pup poked Martin with the stick.

"Hey, stoppit! I'm serious!"

Unlike Martin, Gonff realised that the wolf pup was not being serious. "Chill, Martin, he just wants to play!"

The wolf pup poked his stick on the mousethief's stomach. "Francesco no playing! He serious!"

"It doesn't look like it, matey" Martin grumbled. "He seems very serious to me. Looks more like he wants to fight-"

"Ci! We fight, mouse!"

Martin grabbed the hilt of his broken sword, but Gonff smacked his paw. "Martin! He's just a kid who wants to play! Don't hurt him!"

Martin sighed, and picked up a stick. "Ok, but if he kills me it's your fault."

The wolf pup was wandering around as if he was looking for someone. "Hmm, Caesar not to be seen." He turned his attention to Gonff. "You play role of Caesar. It's very easy: thumb up means you enjoyed fight, down thumb means you didn't enjoy fight and we die. Got it?"

Gonff winked and held up his thumb. "Got it, matey!"

"Francesco not your matey." The wolf pup looked at Martin. "We fight now!"

Martin held out his stick like a sword. "You're on, wolf!"

Martin and the wolf pup ran around the fountain, smacking their sticks against each other like swords and poking each other with the stick. The "fight" lasted for a few minutes, until somebeast called the wolf pup.

"Francesco! Francesco, where are you!" A she-wolf approached the fountain.

The wolf pup stopped his mock fight with Martin. "Here, Mama!"

The she-wolf ran up to her son. "Francesco, what are you up to?"

"I'm fighting mouse," Francesco replied. "Like gladiators in Colosseum!"

The she-wolf sighed, then looked at Martin. "I'm so sorry about this. He thinks that he's a soldier-"

"Gladiator!" Francesco corrected.

The she-wolf addressed her son. "No, Francesco, soldier. Gladiators only fight; they don't enforce rules or work for the army like soldiers do."

Francesco was confused. "Wait, so soldier and gladiator not same thing?"

"No, they are not."

"Oh. Then Francesco soldier. Francesco enforce rules."

The she-wolf giggled. "Yes, you enforce rules. You do it very well."

"I stoppa intruder mouse with half-sword! We fight until you arrive, Mama."

The she-wolf was confused. "Half-sword?"

"Yeah, around mouse neck."

The she-wolf looked at Martin's neck. "Oh, wow." She then addressed the warrior. "Anyway, as I was going to say, sorry about my son's behaviour. I hope he didn't harm you."

"He didn't," Martin responded. "And don't worry about it."

"Oh, thank you. So whom do I have the pleasure of meeting? I am Italiana."

Martin bowed. "Nice to meet you, Italiana. My name is Martin the Warrior, Son of Luke the Warrior."

"Wow, a warrior. Impressive!"

Gonff introduced himself. "And I'm Gonff, the Prince of Mousethieves!"

Martin smacked his paw against his brow and shook his head. _You just had to mention that_, the warrior thought.

Francesco overheard. "You a thief! I turn you in to Caesar! Then you fight gladiator for your honor!"

"Actually, little wolf, I'm not gonna fight a gladiator; my matey Martin is!" The mousethief placed a paw on his best friend's shoulder.

"I'm not fighting a gladiator, Gonff," Martin said as he gritted his teeth.

"But Tsarmina said-"

"She wants us dead, remember?"

"I know. But still, we should show her that you can survive a gladiator fight, as she doesn't think that you could and we must prove her wrong!"

"You also fight gladiator," Francesco added, pointing his stick at Gonff. "You need to regain honor lost from life of crime! Or you die in fight-"

"Francesco!" Italiana picked up her son. "No need to be condemning him; he hasn't done anything wrong-"

"But he said-"

"Yes, I heard what he said. But until he actually does it here then we have no reason to treat him as a criminal."

"Ok, Mama." Francesco yawned and dropped the stick. "Me sleepy now."

Italiana stroked her son between the ears as his eyelids closed. "Yes, I know. You've had a long day and it's past your bedtime." The she-wolf addressed the two mice. "You guys can stay with us if you'd like."

"Thank you very much, madame." Martin looked towards the fountain. Pineflower was still there admiring it. He called out to her. "Come on, Pineflower. A friendly wolf is going to allow us to stay with her!"

"Sweet!" The marten came running over and introduced herself to the wolves. "My name is Pineflower!"

"Nice to meet you, Pineflower," Italiana shook the marten's outstretched paw. "So are you three from around here? Cause I've never seen any of you before."

"We are not from here; we are from up north."

"From Mossflower, specifically!" Gonff added.

The she-wolf smiled. "Ah, Mossflower. I have heard of it. They say that forest is under the rule of tyrannical wildcats. Is this true?"

"Yes," Martin answered.

"Interesting. Follow me." Italiana led the three travellers to her house. Pineflower tied the horse up to a post, and everybeast (except the horse) went in.

Italiana's house was not very big, but for a poor beast's house it was quite comfy. The she-wolf put her son to bed, then prepared places to sleep for the three travellers. "Sorry these won't be so comfortable, but they're all I have."

"No problem, matey. Good night." Gonff laid down and fell asleep.

Martin grabbed a quill and paper. Pineflower noticed. "Say, what'cha doing?"

"I'm letting Tsarmina know that we arrived," Martin responded as he started to write.

The marten snatched the quill out of the warrior's paw. "No way! Today can't count as the first day; we just got here!"

"But we were in Rome, so it counts!" Martin argued.

"Yeah, for two hours! So it doesn't count!"

"But during those two hours we already had some action, so it counts!"

"So what happened?"

"Italiana's son fought me."

"That's not real danger; he was just make-believing! So today doesn't count!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

Italiana placed her paws on the two beast's shoulders. "Dearies, there's no reason to argue about it. Pineflower, let Martin write his letter. We won't be able to send the letter until tomorrow anyway."

Pineflower sighed. "Alrighty. Good night." Pineflower gave the quill back to Martin and found a spot to lay down.

Martin finished up his letter, and found his spot to sleep.

Italiana smiled. "Good night, my friends." She dimmed the lights and went to bed.

* * *

**ferretWARLORD: Sorry for not making this clear earlier (I didn't think that I would have to, XD), but it's gonna be a Redwallized Rome. That is, no humans. Sorry for no ferret Jesus, but I got to be respectful of those who are not Christian.**

**King's Critic: Yes, Martin fighting in the Colosseum does sound super exciting! Sorry to hear that you're not feeling well; hope you feel better soon!**


	6. The Greek Jackal

**I must mention now that I'm absolutely horrible at songs and poetry, so please bear with me!**

* * *

Despite his age, little Francesco was the first creature to wake up the next morning. He looked out the window to view his beautiful homeland as he did every morning. One sight in particular caught his eye.

Martin woke up not long after Francesco did. He noticed the wolf pup staring out the window in curiosity and fascination. "Hey Francesco, what is it?"

"What they doing?" Francesco asked.

Martin walked over to the wolf pup. "Here, let me take a look." He peeked out the window with the pup.

They saw a group of creatures walking up a hill in the distance. Most of the beasts were Roman soldiers. They cracked their whips at the two beasts who were not soldiers. The two beasts were scarred, and were struggling under the weight of the wooden crosses that they carried.

Martin hesitated. "Uhh...this is nothing that a young one like you needs to know about."

Francesco asked that question any youngster would. "Why?"

"Because...umm...there are just some things that little ones like you should not know about until they are older."

"Why?"

"Because they...well...they may be scared if they knew at such a young age."

"Why?"

"Because some things in this world are just horrible like that."

"Why?"

"That, young wolf, is a question that I ask myself all the time."

Francesco continued to stare out the window; the warrior mouse shut the curtains to prevent him from watching the event. "Aww, Martin!"

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let you be scared by it."

"Oh, ok."

Martin decided to change the subject. "I forgot to tell you yesterday, you're a good fighter."

This perked the wolf pup up. "You think so?"

"Yeah. Heck, I couldn't use a sword until I was much older."

"Really?"

Martin nodded. "Yep."

"Martin, what are you doing up so early?" Italiana asked. She did not ask her son as he always got up early.

"I couldn't sleep anymore," Martin replied.

"Oh, ok then. Well, if you need me I'll be in the kitchen." The she-wolf went into what could barely be called a kitchen and prepared some food.

The scent of food woke up Gonff. "Mmm, what's for breakfast?" he asked. "I'm starving!"

"You always are," Martin stated.

"And the first thing you think about when you get up is food," Pineflower yawned as she stood up. "Why am I not surprised."

"But the first thing you though about when you woke up was what I was thinking about when I woke up," Gonff argued.

"No. I was lying awake, thinking about how much fun I - err, we - are going to have here."

Italiana brought out a plate of pastries - one for each creature. "Sorry there's not more, but this is all I can afford."

"That's ok."

Each beast took one of the pastries and ate.

"So what do you beats plan on doing today?" Italiana asked after they finished eating.

"I think that we'll just explore today," Martin answered.

"I'm going to observe Roman life and write a book about it!" Pineflower added.

Italiana smiled. "Great. You guys have fun."

The travellers left the small house, Pineflower going in one direction and the two mice going in another.

"I wonder what they're doing up there?" Gonff pointed up the hill that could be seen in the distance.

Before Martin could respond, a scream was heard. He looked towards his friend, not answering the question. "We better go see what's happening."

The two mice ran in the direction that the scream came from. They arrived at the edge of the city, near the base of the hill. A group of creatures was surrounding something.

Martin approached the group and got a glimpse of what they were surrounding. A female jackal was lying on the ground, seemingly dead.

Gonff managed to make his way through the crowd. Upon seeing the jackal he took his hat off and placed it on his heart.

"Rest in peace, Lady Jackal.  
For whom I didn't know.  
You now have endless peace  
for all eternity."

A polecat in Roman armour placed a paw on the mousethief's shoulder. "At least she's in a better place now, my little friend."

A fat dormouse, also in Roman armour, sighed. "She's not dead, you fool. She does this all the time!"

"What do you mean?" Martin asked.

"Athena - that jackal - faints at least once every single day! The stupid Greek!"

"We Greeks are not stupid, Glis." Athena had awaken from her unconsciousness.

Glis pointed at the jackal. "You see, I prove my point. She's fine."

As the action was over, the other creatures went back to their daily lives. The polecat helped the jackal onto her paws. "Are you ok, Madame?"

Athena accepted the help. "Yes, I'm fine now, Ictis. Thank you."

"No problem! So, what caused you to faint this time, Athena?"

"That," the jackal pointed up the hill. "Another crucifixion."

"Oh, I see. Then best you avert your eyes from that!"

Athena did as she was bidden - and spotted the two mice "Well, hi there!"

That was when Ictis realised that he didn't know Gonff. "Oh, hello! I've never seen you around here before! Are you a new-comer?"

Before Gonff could speak, Martin responded. "Yes, me and my friend are new here, though we are only visiting. We are travellers from up north."

"Welcome to Rome! My name is Ictis, the Caesar's most loyal soldier! Whom do I have the honor of meeting?"

Martin bowed. "I am Martin the Warrior, Son of Luke the Warrior."

Ictis was fascinated. "Wow, you mean _the_ Luke the Warrior?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's amazing! Your father is a very respectable creature, to say the least. So who is your little talented friend here?"

Gonff bowed. "I'm Gonff, the Prince of Mouseth-"

Martin put his paw on the mousethief's mouth to stop him from talking. The warrior hesitated. "Uhh, would you excuse us for a moment?"

Ictis nodded his understanding. Martin lead Gonff away from the others. "Gonff, are you crazy, what were you thinking!"

Gonff was confused. "What do you mean, matey? Twas only introducing myself."

"Ictis. Roman soldier. Extremely loyal to Caesar. As is that dormouse Glis."

"So?"

"You can't just go about telling them that you're a thief! They'd arrest you in a heartbeat! Then..." the warrior mouse moved his claw across his throat.

Gonff gulped. "Oh, I see."

"Yeah. So just be more careful, ok?"

"Sure, matey!"

"Thanks." Martin and his friend returned to the group.

When they arrived, they overheard a conversation between the two Roman soldiers.

"I don't trust those mice," Glis stated.

"Why not?" Ictis asked. "They seem like goodbeasts to me!" The polecat thought for a moment. "Wait a second, is this because they're not Roman? Is it because they're from the north?"

"They could be Germanic!"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! They could be spies for all we know, like those two tanuki we caught the other day!"

"Well, they don't look Germanic to me!" Ictis noticed the two mice watching them. "So, where are you two from?"

"Mossflower Woods," both Martin and Gonff responded.

The polecat grinned. "See, I told ya! They're not Germanic; they're from the British Isles."

Glis leaned on the end of his spear. "But still, I don't trust them."

"And why is that?"

"There's just something about them. That one mouse...I wonder what he was going to say before the other one shut him up."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! It sounded like he was going to say that he was the Prince of Mouse_thieves_!"

Ictis laughed. "Hahaha, you serious! I'm no thief, but if I was the Prince of Thieves then I wouldn't be stupid enough to go about telling everybeast that I was the prince of them! And I'm sure that the real Prince of Thieves, whoever he is, is also smart enough to not be telling everybeast that!"

"True..." Glis smiled. "Ahh, just imagine if we did catch the Prince of Thieves. We'd be famous, I tell you! Famous! I heard that the Greeneyes of Mossflower are having a problem with a thief - they say that he's the Prince of Thieves! Perhaps we should go up there and help them catch him!"

"Whatever. You just continue your thief-catching fantasies and I'll be getting to know the visitors." Ictis turned towards the mice. "Sorry about my companion." The polecat leaned closer to the mice and whispered. "He's trying to outcompete me on loyalty to the Caesar." He winked.

Glis turned towards them. "I heard that! And you know what, that's a great idea! Let's get to know our little visitors!" He shoved Gonff. "So, what were you going to say before your friend shut you up?"

Gonff hesitated. After hearing the dormouse brag about catching thieves, he was extremely nervous. "I was going to say that I was...uhh...the Prince of...umm...Mousethwidders!"

"Mousethwidders? Is that even real? What does it mean?"

Gonff grabbed his flute and started to twiddle around on it.

Athena started to sing in Greek. Ictis tapped his paw to the beat of the music. "It means that he's really talented with instruments! See, I told ya, he's no thief!"

Glis sighed. "Fine, Ictis, you win." He turned towards the mice. "But I'm keeping an extremely close eye on you two, you hear! One violation of the law and I'll have you both wish that you've never came here!"

Martin nodded. Gonff wasn't listening as he continued to play his flute.

The dormouse was about to smack the flute out of the mousethief's paws, but Ictis stopped him. "Don't! His friend understands what you've said, he'll tell him sooner than later!"

Glis sighed. "Fine." He turned towards Martin. "After your little friend is finished fooling around, you two go to the top of that hill and see what they've done to those two Germanic tanuki spies! Take that as a lesson to obey the law here!" The dormouse left.

"He's too serious," Athena stated after the dormouse was gone.

Ictis sighed. "I know. Ok, I get it: as Soldiers of the Glorious Roman Empire and of the Caesar we must be serious about our duty. But that doesn't mean that we can't have fun, right?"

"Exactly!"

"I like to have fun all the time, matey!" Gonff mentioned.

The polecat threw an arm on the mousethief's shoulder. "That's the life, my friend! Perhaps grumpy old Glis could take a lesson or two from ya!"

Everybeast in the group chuckled.

"Yeah!" Athena noticed Martin staring up the hill. "What is it, Martin?"

Ictis dramatically tackled the jackal. "Nooooooooo! Don't look, Athena! You'll faint again!" He looked over at Martin. "So what is it, little buddy?"

Martin sighed. "I was hoping that Gonff would not have to be exposed to this. I don't think that he could bear it."

"Then don't expose yourselves to it! That's an easy solution!" Athena exclaimed.

"But Glis told them to," Ictis reminded.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Then just make it quick."

Martin nodded. Gonff had stopped playing his flute and was now staring up the hill. "So why does that dormouse want us to go up the hill anyways, matey?"

"You'll see when you get up there. Warning: it's not pretty." Ictis answered.

Martin sighed. "We might as well get this over with. Come on, Gonff."

The polecat shouted after the mice as they headed up the hill. "Me and Athena will waits for ya down here!"

Martin looked over his shoulder, and nodded.

"I do hopes that they won't be scarred for lifes like I was," Athena stated.

Ictis nodded. "Yeah, I hope so too."

They watched as Martin and Gonff made their way to the top of the hill - the same hill that Francesco was staring at earlier that morning.

* * *

**King's Critic: Sorry, but I'm not telling how Martin becomes a gladiator; you'll just have to wait till that part of the story. Ok, now why would I not make Martin's fight in the Colosseum a major event? XD! The only event that will be more major than the Colosseum fight is the climax! Sorry for not updating in a while but school has resumed and as such I'm focusing on that. I am obsessed with getting good grades, and I tend to spend a ridiculously long amount of time on homework. I'm sorry to hear that you have Epistaxis, and I hope that you'll be better soon.**


	7. Germanic Spies

When the two mice reached the top of the hill, they came across an interesting - and very disturbing - sight. Two tanuki (raccoon-dogs) were hanging off of wooden crucifixes, their bloodied paws nailed into the wood. The one was dead, his lifeless body hanging like a rag doll. The other was barely holding on to life. Nearby a group of Roman soldiers napped, apparently bored of waiting for the one prisoner to die.

Gonff was speechless, too horrified to even say one word. Martin voiced his thoughts. "Those poor beasts...those poor, poor beasts."

The tanuki overheard the warrior. "Yes, us poor beasts indeed. Couldn't even receive a painless death; instead they torture us so much that they make us want to die." The tanuki indicated to the dead one. "My poor brother is lucky; he's passed on now. Doesn't have to feel these nails in his paws any-oww! Sorry, this hurts like hell!" He sighed. "Anyways, so what are you two doing up here? Go and enjoy your short lives, while they last."

"We were told to come here by Glis," Martin responded.

"Ah, Mr. Glis. He's a cruel one, that dormouse is. He's the one that caught me and my brother."

Gonff finally found his voice. "So...what did you two do...to to have this happen...to you?" he asked, his voice really shaky.

Surprisingly, the tanuki smiled. "We were caught spying on the Caesar." The tone of the tanuki's voice was filled with hate as he said the word Caesar.

"May I ask why you were spying on him?" Martin asked.

"We are - were - Germanic spies, you see. We want to stop that tyrant from taking over all of Eurasia and the world!"

"Tyrant?"

"Yeah; that Caesar is a cruel dictator! Even worse than Queen Tsarmina, and that's saying something! You know who she is, right?"

"Yeah; we live in Mossflower."

"Oh, then you'd know exactly what I'm talking about! Anyway, the Caesar taxes his poor subjects so much, they barely are able to even survive! He tortures prisoners - as you can see here - and he enjoys nothing more than seeing poor beasts fight to the death!"

Martin was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah, really! So me and my brother heroically went out to try to stop him-"

"Hero, smero, when will you die already?!" One of the Roman soldiers had awoken. "By the way, you're no hero! You're a spy, and spies are NEVER heroes!"

The tanuki grunted. "So says a follower of the Caesar." He addressed the mice. "Don't believe Glis; he just wants to demonize me! They say that we deserve this, that we are bad beasts, but we really aren't. We just want to be heroes!"

Glis ignored the tanuki, his attention now focused on the two mice. "Ah, Martin, Gonif, I see you two actually made it here. Good. Well, take a good, long look! This here's what we do to criminals! Murderers, betrayers, spies, thieves, they all find their way to Cross Hill to meet their dooms! Remember this: if you commit a crime, this may be your fate. So obey the law, understand?"

"Yes, we understand," Martin nodded.

"Good." That was when Glis noticed the broken sword around Martin's neck. He inspected it. "Hmm, this is fascinating. Are you a warrior?"

"Yes; I'm pretty sure I said that when I introduced myself to you, Ictis, and Athena."

The dormouse smiled. "Oh, ahaha, I forgot about that. Sorry; I was just too busy focusing on why you shut your pal up when he was talking. So why'd you do that, anyway?"

Martin slightly hesitated, but hid it. He had to think up of an excuse quick. "Because...he says that he's the prince of everything - which he's not-"

"Yes I am, matey!" Gonff argued.

Glis addressed the mousethief. "Really? So does that mean that you're the Prince of Thieves, by any chance?"

"Noooo, no no no, of course not!" Martin lied, before Gonff could say a word. "Where'd you get such a crazy thought?"

"Dunno, just my hopeful imagination, I guess."

"Hopeful imagination?" Martin asked, curious.

"Yeah." The dormouse smiled as he thought about his desires. "My biggest dream, my biggest hope, is to one day capture the King of Thieves and the Prince of Thieves. Ah, I can just imagine the moment I have them in my clutches! Before they die I will make them suffer so much that they'd wish they were never born! They will both regret the day they ever became thieves!"

Gonff was shaking uncontrollably. Martin noticed. "Err, can you excuse us for a moment, sir?"

"Sure."

Martin lead his friend away from the dormouse. They hid behind a bush to avoid attracting Glis' attention. Martin placed a comforting paw on Gonff's shoulder. "Relax, buddy. Don't be scared, there's nothing to worry about."

"But...did...you...hear...what...he...said?" Gonff asked.

"Yes, I heard him. But he doesn't know that you're a thief, and I told him that you're not. If you want, I'll double-check to make sure he doesn't know. But as long as you behave yourself he won't find out. So just calm down, you're gonna be alright, I promise."

The mousethief wiped a tear from his eye. "Thanks, Martin me matey! You're the best pal a mousethief could ever have! I knew I made the right choice in my best friend!"

Martin smiled. "Thanks, buddy. That...that really means a lot to me. Now come on, we better go back before Glis thinks that we are thieves trying to escape him!"

The two mice walked back up to the top of the hill. Glis noticed them. "So what were you doing, anyway?"

Martin thought of an excuse quick. "Uhh...I was feeling sick."

"Uhh, ok...so why'd you bring him along?"

The warrior was prepared with another excuse. "He carries the medical herbs, cause he's the Prince of Healing."

"Umm...ok..."

Martin decided to change the subject. "So, Glis, do you know anything about those two thieves?"

This perked the dormouse up. "Yeah, sorta, somewhat. All I know about the King is that he's a hyena from either the Great Arabian Desert or North Africa; I don't remember which. It's rumoured that he's extremely secretive, which is believable. Hence my limited knowledge of him; I don't even know his name. The Prince I know a little more about. He's said to be a young mouse from Mossflower. I know his name for certain, it's Gonff. Hmm, perhaps that's why I mistoke your friend for the Prince; they're both from Mossflower and their names are extremely similar: Gonff, Gonif. Still, I can't help but wonder if they are one and the same..."

"He knows, matey," Gonff whispered to Martin, his voice filled with fear.

Martin realised that they had to leave, before Gonff freaked and Glis discovered the truth. "Well, Glis, it was nice talking to you, but me and Gonif must be going now. Ciao!"

Glis just waved as he watched the two mice trot down the hill.

"Whew, at least we got that over with," Martin sighed. "I hope we have no more to do with that for the rest of our trip - and the rest of our lives, for that matter."

"Agreed," Gonff nodded. "That looked like the most horrible death a beast could suffer. Just the thought of it is nerve-racking! I'd hate to be in that poor tanuki's position, matey."

"Yep."

All of a sudden, a flying-fox bat flew up to the two mice. "Excuse me, but are you Martin the Warrior, the Warrior?" she asked.

Martin bowed in respect. "Yes, I am. Whom do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

The flying-fox hesitated. "Uhh...it's been forever since I've been called by a name, a name. They just refer to me as Megabat, Megabat."

"They? Whose they?" Gonff asked.

"Those at Kotir, at Kotir. I am their slave, their slave. Verdauga caught me during his travels, his travels. Now I serve as their messenger, their messenger."

"Oh, sorry to hear that your a slave," Martin stated.

"Not your fault, not your fault."

"I know, but I still feel bad. So what do you need?"

"You supposed to send letter to Tsarmina once you arrived at Rome, at Rome."

Martin grabbed the letter he had written the previous night. "I got that right hear, ready to be sent."

Megabat took the letter. "Great, great. I'll get this to her right away, right away."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, your welcome. Good luck, good luck." Megabat flew off.

"She's nice," Gonff mentioned. "Once we get back to Mossflower we should try to free her."

"Yeah," Martin agreed. "We should."

When they reached the bottom of the hill, the two mice were greeted by Ictis and Athena. "So, how was it?" the polecat asked.

"Disturbing," Martin replied.

"So where you two scarred for life like Athena was?"

"I wasn't, as I'm kinda used to seeing death and suffering. But I think poor Gonff was."

"I see. Well, you twos need not think about it nows. Just don't commit a crime and all will be well. I'm not worried about either of ya, I'm sure you'll obey the law."

"I hope so," Martin mumbled under his breath. "I really, really hope so."

Gonff wanted to change the subject. "So, Athena, what's a Greek like yourself doing here in Rome, matey?"

Athena smiled. "I'm here to learn more about the Romans, so that me and my fellow Greeks can coexist with our conquerors."

"She's doing a good thing, she is!" Ictis placed a paw on the jackal's shoulder. "Though she's well aware that if she uses her knowledge for traitory then she'll be sent to the Dark Forest, right my girl?"

The jackal vigorously nodded. "Yes, sir, I understand, sir!"

"I knew so! So yeah, I'm helping her learn about us, and now we're good friends!"

"That's nice," Martin stated.

"Yeah, it is. Come on, you two, me and Athena can give you a tour of Rome!"

Ictis, with Athena's assistance, gave Martin and Gonff a tour of the entire city of Rome. It lasted all day. The four beasts enjoyed the day, the two mice forgetting about what they saw earlier. After the tour, the two mice went back to Italiana's house. They were greeted by the two wolves and Pineflower, whom was sitting at a desk writing her book. They all settled down for the night and feel asleep - all except one. The beast who did not fall asleep sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night.

* * *

**King's Critic: Me, a cruel beast? I say not, wot wot! Though I don't even think I have to tell you what's to happen as you seem pretty good at guessing it anyway; your suggestion was exactly what I already had planned in regards to Gonff and thievery in Rome. Glad to hear that you're recovering!**


	8. Thieves in the Night

Before he snuck out the window, Gonff checked to make sure that everybeast was fast asleep. They were. He left as quietly as he could to avoid waking his companions - a very easy task for the Prince of Mousethieves.

Once out, Gonff wandered the empty streets of Rome, until he arrived at the marketplace. There, he stole food from the various stands, which were unprotected. He took all kinds of food - fruits, vegetables, nuts, cheese, wine, whatever he could get his paws on. All the while glancing around to make sure that nobeast spotted him.

The mousethief grabbed an apple and bit into it, when all of a sudden he heard what sounded like somebeast landing into the bushes. He jumped, dropping the apple in the process, and stared towards the source of the sound. His heart raced, hoping that it was not a Roman soldier.

The creature carefully climbed out of the bushes, and grabbed his bag that was loaded to the top with jewels and valuables of all kinds. He spotted Gonff. "Hey, Gonff, Prince of Thieves!"

The mousethief was on his guard. "Shhh! Who are you, and how'd you know who I am?"

The striped hyena approached him. "I never fail to recognize a fellow thief like myself."

Gonff realized who he was talking to. "Shadow!"

"Yeah, it's me, Shadow, the mysterious King of Thieves!"

Gonff heaved a sigh of relief. "Good to know it's just you, matey. So how are you?"

Shadow placed a paw on the mouse's shoulder. "I feel the same here. For a moment there I thought you were Glis. I'm good, thank you very much. How about yourself?"

"I'm great, matey! Me and my friend Martin the Warrior are here on a quest to survive Rome for a week and prove Tsarmina wrong on how she thinks we are weaklings!"

"That's cool. I'm just here to steal. I've heard that the Caesar of Rome is extremely wealthy, and what thief can resist stealing from him, right?"

"Exactly! I plan on taking some of his riches myself."

"I knew that you'd know what I'm talking about, cause us thieves think alike! So yeah, I just snuck out of his place with all these riches here." The hyena showed off the jewels he stole.

Gonff eyed the jewels, enchanted by their beauty. After allowing the mouse to briefly view them, Shadow quickly shut the bag and threw it around his shoulder, to the complains of the youngster. "You really think I would've allowed you to look at them so long as to provide an opportunity for you to steal them? Ha, fat chance! I know how it works, Gonff! After all, I ain't the King of Thieves for nuthing - just like how there's a reason why they call you the Prince of Thieves!"

"Exactly, matey! Those at Kotir certainly know it!"

"Ha, I can just imagine the look of those Kotir soldiers' faces when they find their stuff stolen all the time! Oh, how I'd love to steal from Kotir. Should go there next."

"You should. They have lots of good stuff to take, matey!"

All of a sudden, both thieves heard the sound of approaching beasts - three Roman soldiers, lead by Glis. "We best be getting out of here! See you, Gonff!" Shadow ran off as fast as he could, escaping detection.

The mousethief grabbed his bag and did the same. Luckily for him, he was not spotted by the soldiers as he fled. Since it was completely stuffed, he decided to stop thieving for the night and go back to Italiana's house. He snuck in without anybeast noticing, hid the stolen items, and fell asleep.

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**King's Critic: Actually, the King of Thieves is not a major character in this story, but one of his actions will have a significant impact on the plot...**


	9. Mock Fight, Real Fight

**Just to let everybody know now, I'm not very good at writing fighting/action scenes (it's something I'm still working on). So I apologize for that in advance.**

* * *

"I da best soldier in alla Rome!"

"You think so, matey?"

"Ci; I can beata anybeast ina fight!"

"Really? Wanna test that?"

"Ci!"

"Alright, matey, you gotta beat me then!"

"You're on, thief!"

Francesco picked up his wooden sword, while Gonff grabbed a stick. The two mock-fought, smacking their "weapons" against each other like real fighters would.

Martin watched. "Oh, Gonff, I don't think this is such a good idea. That little wolf is one little fighter."

The mousethief nodded. "I've noticed, matey, but did you know that I'm the Prince of Warriors?"

Martin stood up and waved his paws. "Oh, no. No no no no. You're not the Prince of Warriors! A warrior would not run off screaming for mommy when confronted by a giant eagle like you did the one day!"

Gonff smiled sheepishly at the memory. Francesco was laughing. "Hahahahaha Mama's Boy! Hahahaha! And you were scared of an eagle! Hahaha! They're not scary, haha!"

"But remember that eagles eat the likes of us, not wolves," Gonff argued back.

"Actually, some eagles can and do catch wolves," Martin mentioned.

"But still, me fear no eagle!" Francesco held out his wooden sword at the mousethief. "We continue fight for your honor now!"

Gonff held out the stick. "You're on!"

The two continued their mock-fight. Nobeast knew how much time had passed, but at one point Gonff grabbed the wooden sword and held it under his arm when the wolf pup thrusted it at him. The mousethief acted dramatically as he pretended to die. "Oooooooh, you got me, warrior wolf! I'm dying, I'm dying, the life is slipping from my paws as I speak." He laid on the ground, still holding the wooden sword under his arm, closed his eyes, and stuck his tongue out. "Goodbye, cruel world!"

Martin gasped. "Oh, no! You killed the Prince! How dare you!"

Francesco giggled. "Me win! I won for the honor of Rome!"

"You did?" Italiana asked. "Oh, you are growing up to be quite the little soldier! One day you'll be the commander of the Roman Army!"

"He'll just need some extra training!" Ictis stated as he approached the group.

Athena followed - and spotted Gonff, who was still playing dead. She was unaware that he was only acting. "No! Gonff's dead!" The jackal fainted. Ictis caught her.

The mousethief sat up. "I'm not really dead, matey."

"Tell her that in a few minutes, when she revives," the polecat replied.

Italiana was rushing to gather the few herbs that she had, then ran up to the jackal. Ictis calmed the she-wolf. "Relax, madam, no need for all that. She'll be about in a few minutes, rest assure."

Italiana nodded. The creatures waited a few minutes. Sure enough, Athena came back into consciousness. "Gonff, you're alive!" She shouted upon spotting the mouse.

"Of course I am, matey," the mousethief said. "Why would I not be?"

"But...but...you, you were lying on the ground...with that sword-"

"A fake wooden sword that he was holding under his arm," Ictis informed.

Athena had a look of embarrassment on her face. "Oh. I feel stupid now."

"Don't be," Gonff stated. "I can't blame you for thinking so, matey. After all, I am the Prince of Actors!"

"You sure are! You really scared me there for a moment!"

"The important thing is that you are ok," Italiana told the jackal. "Let's put this all behind us now."

"I like that idea. Who wants to go to the Colosseum?" Ictis asked.

"Me and Francesco must do some things around here, but the rest of you beasts go have fun now!"

"Aww, Mama." Francesco complained. "I wanna see fight!"

"Sorry, Francesco, but we have chores to do. If you behave I'll take you to see a fight tomorrow."

"Ok! See ya guys!" Francesco ran into the house, ready to do whatever his mother commanded of him. Italiana followed.

Ictis lead the others to the Colosseum. It was a sight to behold. The amphitheatre loomed over the beasts, its arches adding to its impressiveness. They went inside and, despite the huge crowd, found seats.

The crowd was excited when a fox dressed up in typical gladiator attire entered the arena. He glanced around, experting his opponent to pop out and attack at any moment.

"That must be the gladiator?" Pineflower asked.

"Yep." Ictis replied.

"Squeee, I finally get to see a gladiator fight!"

"Let's watch then!"

A trap door opened, and a giant serpent sped out into the arena. The fox hid behind one of the obstacles - but not in fear. Rather, he planned on making a sneak attack on the snake.

But the snake quickly spotted him, and lunged. The fox jumped onto another obstacle to avoid being bitten. With a scream, he lept onto the snake's back and stabbed him with his spear. The snake let out a hiss, then lunged for the fox. The vulpine jumped, but not quick enough to avoid having his leg scratched by the snake's tooth. Gritting his teeth in pain, the fox stabbed the snake again. The snake lunged and wrapped itself around the vulpine, attempting to squeeze the life out of him. The fox gasped for breath, but continued stabbing the snake. Just as he was about the lose strength, the fox gave one last attempt at stabbing the snake. He got lucky; the spear went right through the snake's throat, killing it in an instant.

The crowd went wild as the fox freed himself from the dead serpent. He bowed as he was lead out of the arena.

Pineflower was enthusiastically taking notes on what she just saw. "That was so cool - albeit a little disturbing! But still cool!"

Athena shuttered. "And they call this entertainment?"

Ictis nodded. "Yep. I know, it's probably so different from Greek entertainment but, hey, we're Romans. We're just like that."

"Yeah, it's very different. In Greece we have non-violent plays, not fight to the deaths." The jackal thought about what she just saw - and fainted.

"Greek plays sound enjoyable. Can we see one, matey?" Gonff asked, unaware that Athena had fainted again.

"I don't think we have any around here, cause we're in Rome, not Greece," Ictis stated. "Plus, we'd have to wait for her to revive again."

Gonff looked over at Martin. "Hey, Martin, you should fight next!"

"No!" Martin shook his head. "How many times do I have to say this, I'm NOT fighting a gladiator!"

"Come on, matey!" The mousethief grabbed the warrior's paw and lead him.

"Where are we going, Gonff?"

Gonff did not reply. They arrived to where the gladiators stayed. The mousethief spotted the fox. "Come on, matey!"

"No, Gonff, no!" Martin complained as his friend dragged him.

The fox spotted the two mice as they approached him. "Hey, you two. What are you guys doing down here?"

Gonff bowed. "I, Gonff, the Prince of Mousethieves, would like to introduce you to my pal Martin the Warrior! He's gonna fight a gladiator!"

The fox chuckled. "Really?"

"No, I'm not," Martin stated.

The fox was confused. "Uhh...ok."

The warrior explained. "Tsarmina said that if I fought a gladiator then I'd be killed instantly, so he," Martin pointed at the mousethief. "now has this mindframe that I have to fight one to prove her wrong."

"Ok." The fox crossed his arms. "Now then, did he just admit that he's a mousethief?"

Martin glared at his best friend. "Gonff, why did you have to tell him that?"

The mousethief shrugged. "What? I can't help it!"

The fox nodded. "I see. Hmm...I should be turning you in to the Caesar right now..."

Gonff realized the mistake he made in telling the gladiator. "No, please don't!" he begged.

The fox voiced options. "But I must. I fight to regain my honor; turning criminals in helps with that. But yet again, you are young, and you seem like a nice kid, and you won't receive the mercy of being a gladiator, and I myself was once a criminal - betrayed the Empire, is what I did. Hmmm..." he thought about his options for a few moments. "Ok, ok, I'll spare you, just this one time. But don't tell anybeast I let you go, got it?"

Gonff nodded vigorously. "Thank you!"

"So, what do you two want from me?"

"I think he was going to ask you if you would fight me," Martin stated.

The fox nodded. "I see. But you don't want to fight, no?"

"I would prefer not to. No disrespect intend-"

"Martin, Gonff, there you two are!" Pineflower ran up to the two mice. "We were looking all over for you two!"

Martin lowered his head in shame. "We are sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Ictis stated. "Athena's revived."

The jackal skipped up to the others. The gladiator fox stared at Athena, mesmerized by her beauty. "I wish I was a wolf now," he mumbled.

Athena brushed her tail under the fox's chin. "I'm a jackal, not a wolf." She walked on.

"I wish I was a jackal then."

"That Greek's sure a charmer," Ictis teased.

"She sure is..." It was then that the fox realized he was talking to a soldier. "Oh, your honor. I'm sorry for fooling around, I'll get back to my duties right away!"

Before the polecat could speak, the fox was off doing his tasks.

"So what are we gonna do next?" Athena asked.

"We are...we are going to do...something..." Ictis replied. "Come on!"

The polecat, jackal, marten, and two mice left the Colosseum and participated in other Roman activities. At the end of the day Pineflower and her companions left the Roman and the Greek, and went back to Athena's house. As night fell they all went asleep - except for one. Once again, Gonff went thieving in the night.

* * *

**King's Critic: It's not supposed to be known how Martin becomes a gladiator yet (really, it's not supposed to even be known that he will fight as a gladiator, but I'm sure everyone knows he will by now, XD). The events leading up to this event will start...the next chapter! Honestly I'm still trying to decide on a good title for the story; hence the reason I've been changing it.**


	10. Arrest of the Innocent

**So, just curious, what does everybody think of the OC's so far?**

* * *

The next morning, Italiana took Francesco to the Colosseum as she promised. Pineflower went with them. Martin and Gonff decided to take it easy, and walk the streets of Rome.

As usual, the streets were crowded with beasts buying and trading food and other goods. Gonff eyed the food, with a sneaky I'm-going-to-steal-that look on his face.

Martin noticed. "Don't even think about it, unless you want to die."

The mousethief pretended to think about it. "Hmm, do I want to die? Oh boy, this is a tough question. Hmm...nah, not so, matey!"

"Then keep your paws to yourself-"

"Quick! Catch that thief! Don't let him get away!" Glis' shout could be heard from the distance.

Gonff hid behind Martin. The warrior was suspicious. "Gonff, did you go thieving last night?"

"No, of course not!" Gonff lied. "Why...why would you think...of such a crazy thought?"

Martin glared at his friend. The mousethief smiled sheepishly. "Ok, I did." Tears formed in his eyes. "Please help me, Martin! I don't wanna die-"

"Shh!" The warrior covered his friend's mouth, and whispered urgently. "I don't know if Glis is after you or not, but if he's not then we certainly don't want him finding out!"

All of a sudden, Shadow rushed from out of an alley, and jumped onto one of the carts filled with food. He stopped to grab a candied almond and popped it into his mouth - to the complaints of the cart-owner. The hyena then grabbed his bag, still full with royal riches, ran across the cart, and jumped onto the ground. He galloped straight towards the two mice.

Glis and a group of Roman soldiers on horseback followed. They were hot on Shadow's trail. The dormouse pointed his sword towards the hyena. "There he is, the King of Thieves! Get him!" They raced their horses after him.

The only thing standing between Shadow and his freedom was a gate - and the two mice. "Gonff, help me!"

Using his talents, Gonff unlocked the gate and pushed it open, allowing Shadow to escape. "Thanks, buddy!" The hyena shouted back.

Gonff ran off and hid. Martin just stood there, wondering what was going on.

A big mistake on his part. The Romans ran up to and surrounded the warrior. Glis dismounted his horse and cuffed the mouse's paws. "You are under arrest for assisting a thief that stole from the Caesar escape!"

"What?!" Martin was confused, but knew one thing: he could not allow this to happen to him. He struggled to escape. "Let me go! I didn't do anything! Let me go, I say!"

The soldiers hoped off of their horses and restrained the warrior. Realizing that there was no other choice, Martin allowed Glis and the soldiers to lead him away.

Gonff had seen the whole thing. "No, Martin! No...oh, no no no! It's all my fault! I'm guilty, not him!"_  
_

Athena heard the mousethief, and she was concerned. The jackal walked up to him and placed a paw on his back. "Gonff, are you alright?"

"No." Gonff wiped a tears from his eyes. "Martin was captured by Glis and his soldiers. They think he committed a crime!"

Athena gasped. "Oh, no! That's horrible! How? What happened? Why did they arrest him?"

"They think he helped Shadow escape."

"You mean the King of-"

"Yep. And the worst part is, it's all my fault!"

The jackal hugged the mousethief. "Oh, Gonff, it's not your fault-"

"Yes it is! I helped my friend Shadow escape, then I fled. Poor Martin just stood there and they caught him."

Athena was confused. "Wait, you helped a thief? Why, Gonff, why?"

Gonff glanced around before responding. "Because...and please don't tell anybeast...I am a thief!"

Athena was taken aback. "Really?"

"Yep. And I'm not just a thief; I'm the Prince of Thieves!"

The jackal placed her paws over her mouth. "No way!"

"No way what?" Ictis asked as he walked up to the two beasts. He was in a jolly mood.

"Gonff..." Athena paused, remembering what the mousethief just requested of her. "...just told me that Martin was arrested by Glis!"

The polecat was shocked. "No way!"

"Yeah way; they claim he helped a thief escape!"

"Martin? Help a thief? You must not be talking about our Martin. He's a warrior; he'd never go so low as to help a thief!"

"Key words: they _claim._ According to Gonff, Martin is as innocent as...uhh...as...he's innocent, let's just leave it at that!"

"We must rescue my matey!" Gonff cried.

"We will, I promise. On me oath as a Roman soldier we will prove to the Caesar that Martin is innocent. I fear what would happen if he's found guilty..."

Athena gasped. "They'd...they'd...they'd..." The jackal fainted.

Ictis and Gonff waited for Athena to revive. Once she did, the three beasts rushed off to the Caesar's Palace.

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**King's Critic: Thanks for the title suggestions! I like "The Bet of the Ages" the best; I think I'll give it a try. Thanks!**


	11. Martin's Trial

Being arrested was bad enough; being paraded through the streets of Rome as a prisoner was even worse. That was exactly what Glis and his group of soldiers were doing to Martin. The warrior looked down in shame as he was lead through the streets, though he knew deep in his heart that he was not guilty of anything.

They arrived at the Caesar's Palace, and entered with permission.

"I am not guilty! I did not commit any crime! Let me go now!" Martin shouted as he resisted his captors.

"Shut up!" Glis jabbed the warrior on his side with his spearpoint. "You are guilty until proven innocent! But you only have yourself for evidence of that so it's not likely!"

"How many times do I have to say this, I did not help that thief get away!"

"A million times would be good. But alright, then who did?"

Martin was about to speak, but realized what the fatal consequences of that would be - not for himself, but for Gonff. "Uhh...I don't know..." he lied.

Glis knew the warrior was lying. "I thought so. That's what the criminals always say-"

"I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!"

"Save your talk for the Caesar! He'll deal with you right and proper!"

The soldiers hauled Martin into the main room. It was extremely fancy. At the other end of the room were seated two lynx. The one was reclined back in his fancy chair, being fed grapes and being fanned with leaves by his servants. The other lynx was lying down, taking a midday nap.

Glis bowed as he addressed them. "Your Honor, we caught this mouse assisting the thief that stole your jewels the other day. This mouse helped the King of Thieves escape."

The Caesar rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I see-"

"And what evidence do you have to prove his crime?" the other lynx asked, having awoken from her nap.

"We saw him commit the crime with our own eyes, Your Lady," Glis answered. The soldiers all nodded in agreement.

The Caesar addressed Martin. "You are aware that the penalty for stealing is death?"

"I did not steal anything! I am not a thief!" Martin shouted. The glint of a warrior's spirit was in the mouse's eyes.

This caught the interest of the lynx, but he said nothing of it. Just as he was about to ask another question, Ictis, Athena, and Gonff ran into the palace. The Caesar was pleased to see the polecat. "Ah, Ictis, my most loyal of soldiers!"

"Good day, Your Honor," Ictis bowed. "How is My Honor doing this fine day?"

"I am good, thank you very much. As you can see, I'm busy with a trial. This mouse Martin is accused of helping the King of Thieves get away with my jewels. Do you have any knowledge of this incident?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"So what did you see when this alleged crime was committed?"

"Actually, Your Honor, I was not there to witness. My knowledge comes from Athena."

The Caesar addressed the jackal. "And what did you see, Miss Athena?"

Athena bowed as she replied. "I did not see anything, Your Honor. Gonff told me that Martin is innocent."

"And who is Gonff?"

"I am," Gonff bowed. "Say, are you the guy the Caesar salad is named after? Mmm, I could go for one right now..."

"My wife can make you one in a bit. But first, did you witness the crime being committed?"

The mousethief told the half-truth. "Yes, Your Honor, but Martin did not commit it. A different mouse whom I could not recognize helped Shadow get away, yet my poor matey Martin was captured instead of the other mouse."

"Matey? Please explain."

"Martin is my best friend!"

"I see." The Caesar thought for a few minutes, then started the judgement. "Unfortunately we have no physical evidence for the crime, but we have a number of testimonies. One from Glis, which is supported by six soldiers whom were at the scene with him, and one from Gonff, who is a friend of Martin. He was at the scene, but his two supporters, a Greek and a soldier, were not. The two supports would not know any better, but it is possible that the friend is distorting the truth to protect his friend. Glis and the six soldiers would not have such biases, though Glis may be a little biased on punishing anybody associated with the crime of theft. Hmm...due to less biases and more supporting witnesses, Glis' telling of the events is most likely to be the more accurate. Martin...you are guilty!"

"No!" Gonff cried.

The Caesar continued. "Martin, your sentence shall be-"

"Crucifixion!" Glis shouted.

The Caesar held up his paw. "No. Martin is a warrior; I can tell by his looks. He deserves a more honorable death than that. Martin, you will be sent to the Colosseum where you will live out the rest of your life as a gladiator fighting in the arena. Case dismissed!"

Glis and the soldiers dragged Martin out of the palace. Ictis, Athena, and Gonff left, leaving the two lynx to be at peace once more.

The soldiers arrived at the dungeon with their prisoner. "You're very lucky the Caesar took an interest to you, mouse," Glis stated. "Normally, you'd be hanging off of a cross by now!" The soldiers threw Martin into the prison, then left.

"Let me out of here! I'm innocent! I committed no crime! Free me, I say! Free me!" Martin shouted.

Ictis, Athena, and Gonff heard the warrior's shouting. The mousethief attempted to run towards the prison, but Ictis stopped him. "Don't. There are guards there; I wouldn't risk it. Plus, if they found out he escaped-"

"But we must rescue my matey!" Gonff cried. "He's innocent!"

"Relax, we will. But we will do so by convincing the Caesar to release him, not through a jailbreak. That will just get us all killed if we are caught. You go rest, Gonff; you just need to relax. I promise, me and Athena will think of some way to help Martin. Meet us tomorrow at the Colosseum. We will have a plan by then."

"Ok." The mousethief slowly made his way back to Italiana's house. Just as he was about to enter it he was stopped by a hyena. The hyena noticed that something was wrong. "Gonff, what is is?"

Gonff wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, Shadow, it's horrible! My matey Martin was caught and found guilty for a crime he didn't commit! And worse - it was because of a 'crime' that I committed!"

The King of Thieves nodded his head as he rubbed his chin in thinking. "I heard about that; it's why I came back. I'm so sorry this happened; is there any way that I can help you?"

"No, matey, but thanks for the offer. I'm just gonna go cry my eyes out."

Shadow had never seen the mousethief so depressed before. The hyena felt he had to try to cheer his friend up. "Hey Gonff, do you want to go thieving tonight?"

"I'm not in the mood."

_This is worse than I thought, _the hyena thought. An idea formed in Shadow's head. "Not even from the ones that caused you this suffering?"

Gonff thought about it, then grinned slyly. "Can we steal from Glis?"

"Sure, buddy, if that'll make you happy. I'll meet you here at midnight."

"Perfect! We'll teach that grumpy old dormouse to never mess with the Prince of Thieves!"

"Exactly! Haha, that's the mousethief I know! See you then!" Shadow trotted off.

The mousethief felt a little better. He went into the house and took a nap.

He was awoken by a poke on his side. "Ow!" He jumped up and rubbed his side.

"Mousey awake," Francesco announced.

"Where's Martin?" Pineflower asked.

Gonff explained everything that had occurred.

"Oh no!" the marten exclaimed!

"Relax, dear." Italiana placed a paw on Pineflower's shoulder. "He said Ictis will have a rescue plan by tomorrow. The best thing for you to do is to go to the Colosseum tomorrow to help them out."

"But still, this is horrible! But...you are right, though; that's the best thing to do. Might as well go to sleep so I can be ready for tomorrow. Goodnight!" The marten went to sleep. As did Italiana and Francesco.

The mousethief went back to napping, but in the middle of the night he woke up and snuck out the house. He met up with Shadow, and the two thieves went to steal from the dormouse soldier Glis.

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**Thanks to ferretWARLORD for the idea of Caesar salad references!**

**King's Critic: I'm just trying go keep all the canon characters in character. Hence the reason Gonff says "matey" all the time; he does so in the original books, and I felt that I needed to keep that characteristic in my story.**


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